egautographs
As the title says, do not deal with ABC Unlimited. Here is the story: One day, they sent me an email about their website, and how they sell signed cards. I thought this was a good way to help my signed sets I was doing, so I emailed them my lists to see what they had in stock. After a few that I wanted, I asked them about their money-back guarantee. I asked if their guarantee will cover PSA/DNA or JSA/DNA slabbing costs if they came back unauthentic. They responded and politely said that they won't cover those costs. I asked them where the cards came from, and who they were bought from, dealers, ebay, collectors, etc. They wrote back, and said it didn't matter, since they claimed, in their own words "every single one of our autographs that we have bought and sold over the years are authentic". He told me that he was also buying cards at the time, and would pay good prices for them. I sent him a list of dupes I had, and he offered $25 up front for one of them. He didn't even ask for a scan of it. I could have probably forged it and he wouldn't have known. Hell, he probably buys tons of fake autographs since he doesn't ask for scans or pics of them first. I was a little concerned when I noticed that so I asked him for scans of his cards. He wrote back and went nuts on me and told me, again in his own words: "what more can you ask for??", along with some other namecalling and the like. I wrote a nasty email back to him and blocked his 2 email addresses. Sorry, I had to vent, dealing with unprofessional dealers like this gets me worked up. -EG - http://www.sportsgraphing.com/autograph-talk-questions/8007-do-not-deal-abc-unlimited.html
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I'll start by noting that I have collected autographed Topps baseball cards for over 46 years, beginning with countless afternoons in NY motel lobbies catching players before they boarded their team bus. Over the years I've bought, sold and traded with virtually every reputable dealer, including James Spence and the others named in your blog. In forthright disclosure, I know Brian well, and this includes an understanding of how he obtains his signed cards, and the incredible effort-- often many years worth-- which goes into arranging his signings. These efforts have built genuine friendships with many of the players, and I don't doubt for a minute that most know him favorably and by name. Having said this, I respectfully disagree with several of the points you've made regarding the standards and authenticity of signatures obtained from ABC Unlimited.
ReplyDeleteFirst, ABC Unlimited does absolutely guarantee every signature sold. I maintain extremely stringent standards for the cards placed into my collection, and have returned a card or two to Brian-- not because I questioned the signature, but because the condition of the card wasn't acceptable. We both "know" the hallmarks of most player signatures of the past 70 years. Brian has also declined to purchase, and promptly returned, a few cards obtained from me-- for the same reasons. Please be very clear on the fact that neither he, nor I, are aware of any dealer who will pay grading or slabbing costs. The insinuation that this somehow diminishes Brian's 100% satisfaction guaranty is both naive and grossly unfair.
Next, the insinuation is made that ABC Unlimited would actually pay $25 for an unseen card-- this simply isn't true. Had you agreed, he would have asked you to send him the signed card before any sales price was finalized. Brian knows my standards, knows where my signed cards come from and knows me; in turn, I know that every sale or trade with him isn't made before he inspects each card. It really is that simple, and hasn't varied once.
Unfortunately, you've publicly published a number of accusations against a respected dealer, with no substance to back your claims. Readers of your blog have both a right and a need to know that some very different perspectives are prevalent within the hobby. We're each entitled to our opinions.
You did touch upon one relatively minor point on which I'm inclined to agree. Brian does have a bit of a tendency toward taking a defensive posture when questioned, that's just his nature. I don't know, or care to know, the dialog which led up to the "namecalling" or "going nuts" on you, but will observe that if it included the brand of innuendo and blind insinuation clearly evident in your blog piece, I'm not sure that I wouldn't have responded similarly. Knowing how much work goes into obtaining each of the signatures he offers, and how particular he is about accepting signed cards for sale, a baseless attack isn't likely to win friends. In summary, this blog piece has stood unchallenged for far too long.